"I think that having the ability to put out a product without investing in pressing and carrying inventory is great for lesser-known acts," says Miami musician and Day Music Died keyboardist Humberto Casanova. "It cuts our investment and lets us focus on making more music."

In 2005, Day Music Died spent upward of $10,000 recording and releasing CD copies of The Cardboard Score.

Aiming to stretch its latest investment, Day Music Died digitally released its highly anticipated follow-up, Elephant in the Room, this past February, relying exclusively on online sales.

"We haven't outsold our first album yet," Casanova admits, "but we have sold more digital copies of this album than the first."

Still, Casanova thinks the shift in consumer trends is a good thing.

"I think that both [label and artist] win," he says. "Lesser-known artists get to post their material on a widely accessible medium for an annual fee plus 30 percent [in most cases]. Being that accessible has a price tag, but it's worth it."